Author: Absidity Art

Siblings

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To give Riley a sibling or not to give Riley a sibling – that is the question!

My husband Shane and I had decided that we would have one more. I’ve even been telling people when they ask “when’s the next one coming” that we be trying again next year after our Cape Trip in July/August. Riley would be just over two years old by that point, so he’d be somewhere over three by the time the second child came along.

I am an only child and I always dreamt of having a brother, but like a best mate brother. Initially after having Riley I was so traumatised, I was firm that I was NEVER HAVING ANYMORE. Once I managed to get over thinking that my body had failed me (36 hours of labour, 2 hours of pushing & then had to have an emergency C-section to get the stuck bugger out). It took me a good six months to get over it and realise, umm no your body didn’t fail you, look at that beautiful happy healthy baby boy, yeah your body made that, your body is an awesome miracle maker. From the moment I met Riley I knew he was worth it, but it took me that extra six months to realise I am strong enough to do it again. Women, we are so wonderfully awesome.

My dad comes from a large family and always wanted more than one kid, he’s often joked that he wants 6 -8 grandchildren, yeah not happening buddy. My mum thinks one is a good number, speaking from the experience of only having to cart me around traveling, camping etc.

We took Riley on his first camping trip over Easter and it all went wonderfully, but we’d majorly have to rethink our sleeping arguments and probably have to tow a trailer for all the a extra gear we’d need for two – but that’s minor stuff and I can figure that out when the time comes.

What’s really got me in a funk and has always worried me is Shane’s younger and only sibling Michael. The hell the two of them put their mother through infuriates me! I’m constantly saying to Shane “remember all that shit we went through during labour, feeding in the middle of the night, red bums and constant screaming, Yeah your mum did all that shit you”. When I was set firm on not having a second I made the joke “I got the Shane in Riley, the older brother, even though he can be winey and sooky, he’s mostly a calm happy baby and I don’t want the Michael, the second son, bonces of the walls, short temper, happy only when things go his way. Michael’s son is exactly like him, scares me. Hell I’m very much like him, I bounce of walls, I have a short temper, BUT I have more respect for others and I’d like to think I don’t always have to have things my way, but I’m sure others would say different.

So my husband and his brother don’t have a good relationship and that scares me. I don’t want to give Riley a little brother that’s going to drive him crazy all the time, I want to give him a best friend for life. I look at my cousins, the care and concern one of them has for his older brother. I was recently at one of my cousin’s weddings and the love between him and his little sister just melted me, made me go YES I must give Riley this. Then all this shit with Shane’s family flares up again. SO HELP ME what the fuck am I meant to do. I’m an only child I don’t get it!!! What makes you mates and what makes you enemies. Shane and Michael had separate rooms growing up, but shared a lot of similar interests, sailing, archery etc. My father shared a room with two of his brothers and they survived. My mum shared a room with her sister and I’ve never really heard stories of them fighting. Does the joint room thing make any difference? Riley and the new baby would have their own room. I like my own space so feel I should give them theirs.

I look at the bad times and go, hell no I don’t want this doubled, then I look at the good times and go, YES I want this doubled. But really what it boils down to is I want to give Riley the best life possible. I thought he needed siblings for that, that if I don’t give him a brother or sister he’ll be alone. But the bullshit between Shane and his brother makes me think otherwise 😦 Oh the dramas of a developed nation – Any who tell me your thoughts?

Who out there was an only child went and had siblings, would you suggest it?

Who out there had siblings that decided NO only to have one?

How did your siblings shape you?

How many Children have you got or are hoping to have and why?

Riley’s First Camping Trip

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Capture.22PNGMy Husband Shane and I spent this Easter taking our Son Riley, who is now almost 10 months old, for his first ever camping trip.

It was also the first camping trip for our 80. When Riley was born we sold our beloved Nissan Patrol single cab Ute, which we had perfectly set up for our style of camping and 4wding and we purchased a Toyota 80 series Landcruiser, which we are in the process of setting up family style.

On Thursday we got up, got ourselves and Riley ready, loaded up the 80 and headed up to Narrabri. We made fairly good time and Riley was an Angel on the 400klm – 6 hour journey. We managed to get our brand new Roof Top Tent set up without much drama considering it was our first attempt at doing so. Once we had everything set up we realised we had forgotten to bring sugar and our pillows, dang it!

On Friday I sat around read and relaxed, Shane went fishing and Riley made some new friends – This is pretty much what we did the whole time.10170931_1425931957662166_3131954294624548325_n

On Saturday night the boys had their Camp oven cook off – An event that happens between my dad and our mates Don and Matthew each camping trip. They cooked off, with my dad and Mathew making beef stews and Don a Lamb stew. No one could decide a winner but we all stuffed ourselves silly with the outstanding creations.

Shane then attempted to make a chocolate damper for desert, a perfect way to christen our brand new camp oven, but he slipped while removing the lid the whole thing got covered in ash and embers, although no one was deterred the damper was shook off and eaten anyway “She’ll be right mate” “just a bit of extra crunch”.

On Sunday it was my Dad’s 56th birthday so a concoction of red wine and rum was partaken in.

On Monday Riley took six whole steps buy himself and then proceeded to take a few here and there. He took a few more once we got home, boy is it weird to see him wobble and walk – he’s growing up way too fast.

Riley has fast become a terrific camper, he slept well and enjoyed playing with leaves, dirt and dogs the whole time. The fishing wasn’t as plentiful as the boys would have liked, but you can’t have everything. We slept up the top of the roof top tent with Riley down the bottom in a porta-cot. I’d spent the two weeks prior putting him to sleep in the porta-cot at home to get him used to it and it seems to have paid off. He’d flight sleep during the day, but slept quite well at night, possibly because he’s so exhausted from his adventures.

10277009_1426698347585527_3840396842785608338_nOn Tuesday we headed home and yet again Riley Impressed us with his traveling abilities.

Newcastle Poetry Prize

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__449179I’ve just finished reading the 2013 Newcastle Poetry Prize Anthology ”Now You Shall Know” to prepare myself to enter this years.

2013 was the 32nd consecutive year that the Newcastle Poetry Prize had run. In this Anthology is the 1st, 2nd & 3rd winners plus 24 other highly recommend other entries.

Obviously I preferred some poem suites over others, but it was an interesting and emotional collection by some of the best poets Australia has.

I’m definitely going to have to improve/ rethink/ try not to psych myself out before I enter this year.

>> to find out more on the Newcastle Poetry Prize >>

http://www.hunterwriterscentre.org/newcastle-poetry-prize.html

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/21857902-now-you-shall-know

>> to buy a copy >>

http://www.hunterwriterscentre.org/shop.html

Vaempires: Revolution By Thomas Winship

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Vaempires: Revolution By Thomas Winship

 Synopsis:

 It is the morning of Princess Cassandra’s sixteenth birthday. Everyone’s attention is focused on the heir to the vampire throne. World leaders, the rich and famous, and VIPs from every corner of the globe have gathered in the nation’s capital to celebrate the momentous event.

Cassandra’s boyfriend, Daniel, is late for the party. He’s still outside the city when all hell breaks loose. What he believes is an act of terrorism proves to be a full-fledged revolution. Vaempires-former vampires who mutated into warm-blooded creatures with an insatiable hunger for cold blood-have launched coordinated attacks across the globe, with three goals: the eradication of humanity, the enslavement of vampires, and the ascension of vaempires as the dominant species on the planet.

The vampire and human leaders are killed. Cassandra is missing. Daniel is the acting king. Desperate to find the princess, Daniel and his friends fight their way across the besieged city. With the hopes of the free world resting on the shoulders of four vampire teenagers, vaempires unleash their secret weapon: a new breed of vaempire that is far deadlier than any ever seen before.

What can four teens do against an enemy that can shape-shift, fly, and walk through walls?

My Thoughts:

The story is non-stop action from the first page and as it continues we get friendship and romance added to the mix.

The story is set in a future earth where World War Three happened, caused a Nuclear Winter that nearly destroyed the whole planet and in turn created Vampires, LOVE IT.

I really enjoyed that it’s not Humans vs. Vampires. Vampires are the dominant species, the good guys, the ones being attacked and their world destroyed. An even more mutated race Vaempires are the bad guys slaughtering humans and vampire’s as they attempt to take control. The main characters felt real and I immediately cared about them. As I got closer to the end of this book I thought I knew how it was going to end, but the ending shocked me, I didn’t see it coming. Five out of five stars, I’m really looking forward to reading the next instalment.

Macavity’s not there

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This is a post I wrote for Robert Zimmerman’s Authors We love Series:

Authors We Love: Sarah Fairbairn on T.S. Eliot

TS-Eliot-007As soon as I read or hear the name T.S. Eliot my mind starts singing “Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity, for he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity’’.

Ok so now I’m humming and bopping in my seat – Before we go any further I’m going to chuck some T.S. Eliot Quotes at you:

‘’Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality. But, of course, only those who have personality and emotions know what it means to want to escape from these things’’.

‘’Those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go’’.

‘’If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?’’

Now here are some base facts about the man that was: Thomas Stearns Eliot was born on the 26th of September 1888 and died on the 4th of January 1965. Thomas was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic and one of the twentieth century’s major poets. He was born in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States but later he moved to the United Kingdom.

What he means to me: I have this little poem book by Thomas called Old Possum’s book of practical cats. Yes it’s a book of poems on cats. Yes CATS. I’ve had this book as long as I can remember, my mother used to read it to be before bed and now I read it to my son. My favourite poem of is – take a guess – YEP Macavity (I even have a musical version I put on and dance and sing around the kitchen to). Now I know he wrote a lot more variety and more meaningful works than Macavity, but it’s what connected be to him as a child. I can remember going to see the musical when I was younger with my parents and grandparents. The Christmas after we all had saw the musical I convinced my mum to buy my grandmother the CATS musical official CD collection and on Christmas day I danced around my grandmothers lounge room as she sang along.

I’m still signing in my head “You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square – but when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!’’kittykat

SelfieMe: Sarah Fairbairn. I’m a full time Mum and Wife, a part time accounts admin clerk and a whenever I can blogger and poet. I’ve just published my First Poetry eBook My Mind The Menace and I have a second in progress.

You can connect with me at (I always like meeting and talking to new people):

My Blog: http://sarahalison27.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahAlison27

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahAlison27

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/SarahAlison27

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e09570cee56918eba9993dcad39f5a84

Click on this link below to view Robert Zimmerman’s Authors We love Series – it’s well worth taking a look, you’ll find a new favourite author or two:

http://alifeamongthepages.wordpress.com/special-eventsposts/authors-we-love/

 

#PoetryMonth: From Prompt to Poem

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My Attempt (Not as good as Robert’s, I think) But I had fun 🙂

Breathtaking the catastrophe is
Pleasant and alluring is the inferno paradise

Fate craving streetwise witches classify mergers
Yearning the distinct Infamous Ruler shelters the disturbance notebook

The vaccine compensation is arousing
Almighty excuses howl and fluctuate

Robert Zimmermann's avatarA Life Among The Pages

Poetry Month FB Banner

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This month is flying by WAY too fast. As you know, I’m trying to spend the month reading and WRITING poetry since I haven’t done either much lately. Well, I have been reading some more poetry. The writing part of this plan is still not happening much.

At the beginning of the month, I was getting more active on Instagram (surprised me too) and found (/was found by) a poet, Nairy Fstukh, who shared a Tumblr page full of writing prompts from 2012’s National Poetry Month. I don’t find much from prompts that actually prompt me to write a good poem, but I wanted to give a few a try.

The other night, I picked one that seemed interesting. You’ll find that prompt and the poem I created from it, below. And if you’d like to find more on the poet who turned me onto this prompt site, you can…

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Banjo Paterson Australian Bush Poet Extraordinair

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This is a post I wrote for Robert Zimmerman’s Authors We love Series:

 Authors We Love: Sarah Fairbairn On A. B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson

Banjo_PattersonBanjo Paterson, the bloke on the Aussie Ten Dollar note. One of the all-time most famous Australian poets. His poem Waltzing Matilda is our unofficial national anthem, and very nearly became our official national anthem but just lost out in a vote to Advance Australia Fair. His poems have been recorded as folk and country songs by many Aussie music artists over the years. Another one of his poems and one of my personal favourites ‘’The Man From Snowy River’’ inspired a movie of the same name.

Andrew Barton “Banjo” Paterson was born on the 17th of February in 1864 (Died 5th February 1941). He was born to Scottish immigrant parents on the property of “Narrambla”, near Orange, New South Wales. He spent much of his early life growing up on a farm and becoming familiar with the bush that he would later become so famous for writing about. He attended Sydney Grammar school and Sydney University studying law, not that anyone remembers that part of his life. There is not a child in Australia who doesn’t know his name. His works are taught quite young throughout the public school system.

But it wasn’t school that made me fall in love with Banjo’s humorous and affectionate poems written about early life in the Australian bush, It’s was my Scottish born Grandmother. My grandmother used to read to me his poems before bedtime and play musical versions of them in the car when she would drive me to school. I hear them or read them now and not only think of the beautiful, rugged, Aussie rural and outback imagery that Banjo manages to portray so magnificently, but also of my Grandmothers love for me and of this country.

My personal collection includes a compendium of his entire works and some of his poems that have been illustrated and turned into children’s picture books, brought to introduce my son to his world.

You could walk into most book shops in Australia and purchase something by him, but as for overseas readers The Book Depository will allow you to entre his world: http://www.bookdepository.com/search?searchTerm=Banjo+Paterson&search=Find+book

If you interested here is a YouTube clip of The Man from Snowy River spoken by Michael Edgley with images from the movie it inspired in the background. The section in the poem and the scene in the movie where the Man from Snowy River races over the mountain always sends a chill down my spine, pure Outback Aussie Hero. http://youtu.be/fs_-DKUimeo

I’ve also included a link to Clancy of the Overflow, myself and My Grandmother’s favourite Banjo poem. We can still sit together and recite it word for word the way we used to, around a campfire when I was younger. http://youtu.be/SSbm60mi7Bw

Me: Sarah Fairbairn. I’m a full time Mum and Wife, a part time accounts admin clerk andSelfie a whenever I can blogger and poet. I’ve just published my First Poetry eBook My Mind The Menace and I have a second in progress, as well as a short story collection.

You can connect with me at (I always like meeting and talking to new people):

My Blog: http://sarahalison27.org/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SarahAlison27

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SarahAlison27

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/SarahAlison27

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e09570cee56918eba9993dcad39f5a84Click on this link below to view Robert Zimmerman’s Authors We love Series – it’s well worth taking a look, you’ll find a new favourite author or two: http://alifeamongthepages.wordpress.com/special-eventsposts/authors-we-love/

Time Shifters

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5234978Time Shifters by Shanna Lauffey

Synopsis:

An ancient people who can move through time or space…

A secret that never should have been revealed…

One day in a Los Angeles restaurant, Akalya of the Harekaiian witnesses the capture of several of her people and is the only one to get away. Now it is up to her to rescue the captives and learn how… and why… they are being apprehended.

The key lies in discovering who is behind the hunt for her people, when no one should have known they existed.

My Thoughts:

My only complaint with this book was that it was too short, I wanted it to never end. I’ve just gone and Liked Shanna’s Facebook page because I want to know immediately when the second instalment is out.

I really like Shanna’s take on Time travel. I was immediately drawn into the world of the Harekaiian. The main character is a female by the name of Akalya, she felt real and warm to me, I immediately cared about her. Akalya is a Harekaiian and she possesses the ability to move through space and time. Akalya witnesses some of her own kind being kidnapped and takes it upon herself to rescue the captives.

I really enjoyed this story it was fast paced and I didn’t want to put it down. Shanna gives us mystery, suspense, characters you can feel for, plot twists and romance. Even with all the time shifting and jumping around going on Shanna’s writing is of such high quality that as a reader you don’t get lost and are able to keep up with the fast passed action.

As this is the first Novella in a Ten part series and you can tell that the dark dealings of the ‘bad guys’ are only just coming to light and things are only going to get more intense and more interesting.

I am really looking forward to see how it all concludes.

According to Shanna’s website Time Shifters is only available in eBook on Amazon at the moment, but don’t despair if your still not on the eBook train the paperback is in progress and you’ll be able to grab a copy soon. Keep an eye on Shanna’s website http://shannalauffey.weebly.com/ and FB www.facebook.com/ShannaLauffeyBooks page for updates.

Weekly Writing Challenge: Fifty

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For this week’s challenge, we are asked to write a fifty-word story. Not five thousand, not five hundred, but precisely fifty words.

My Brain processing this week’s challenge: Hmm 50 word story –A story has to have a beginning, middle and end. Dang what kind of story can I tell in 50 words. What does 50 words look like, well half of what it looks like when you do the Friday 100 word story challenge, idiot << That was 53 words! Does it count as a story, probably not LOL.

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The savage wind was forcing her closer to the cliff. She just needed to make it to the abandoned mine on Peters Ridge. Battered and bruised by the wind she finally got there. She pulled a blanket out of her backpack and huddled down for an uncomfortable but safe night.

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Bam! 50 words 🙂

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/writing-challenge-fifty/